Floor Stripping Residue

This is from a tapelift collected in a school. The red is from hematite, red iron oxide pigment. The black is carbon
black pigment. The light colored particles are fragments of calcite from the floor tile.

Definition/Function:

In large facilities with vinyl floors industrial scale rotating buffers are used to remove the yellowed surface sealant. Solvents are used to soften
the surface and the rotating disks grind away the old surface. In the process a fine aerosol of solvent and ground floor tile is thrown into the air.
These particle settle on horizontal surfaces and often contain traces of the solvents that can cause health complaints.